Yugoslavia Rallies to Win World Title

Yugoslavia came back from an eight-point deficit in the final two minutes and survived two key missed free throws by Vlade Divac to beat Argentina, 84-77, in overtime Sunday in front of 17,079 in Conseco Fieldhouse at Indianapolis to win the gold medal in the men’s basketball World Championships.

The game ended with Argentina’s players angrily pointing their fingers and yelling at a Greek referee who failed to call a foul on the final playof regulation.

Dejan Bodiroga scored 27 points, including nine in a row late in the fourth quarter when Yugoslavia rallied to tie the score, and Peja Stojakovic had 26.

Divac missed two free throws with 5.9 seconds left, leaving the score tied, 75-75. Argentina rebounded and got the ball to Hugo Sconochini, who drove to the basket and went down hard as he missed the shot just before the buzzer.

Argentina’s coaches, players and trainers ran onto the court to complain that a foul should have been called. Replays showed Marko Jaric of Yugoslavia making contact with Sconochini.

The referee, Nikos Pitsilkas, ejected a member of the Argentine delegation a few seconds into overtime. Several players screamed and gestured at the referee during the final few seconds of overtime, then clapped their hands in mock applause as he left the court.

Stojakovic made a three-point basket in the first possession of overtime to put Yugoslavia ahead for good. Divac blocked shots on Argentina’s next two possessions and Bodiroga made two free throws for an 80-75 lead with 2:16 left. Argentina scored two points the rest of the way.

*

Auto Racing

Wheel to wheel with Al Unser Jr. for the last 22 laps, barely ahead of a pursuing nine-car pack, Sam Hornish Jr. nosed ahead in the last turn to win the Delphi Indy 300 at Joliet, Ill., in the closest Indy car finish in history.

Hornish won by 24 ten-thousandths of a second--about three inches.

“The fastest way around is to push another car around, but it’s really hard to pass when you have to push a car aside,” Hornish said. “Having a guy that’s experienced like Al and all the races I’ve been in with him and all the respect I have for him, it’s just like a high-speed pace lap.”

Unser finished second. Buddy Lazier was third and Helio Castroneves finished fourth.

The victory gave Hornish the lead in the points race. He leads Castroneves by 12 points with the series’ final race Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

*

Golf

A stunning collapse by Neal Lancaster produced an equally surprising winner in the Canadian Open at Markham, Ontario.

John Rollins, already resigned to finishing second, got into a three-way playoff when Lancaster made double bogey on the 72nd hole, then ended it early by making a 20-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole for his first PGA Tour victory.

“I thought it was going to be a tie for second, a great week,” Rollins said after closing with a seven-under-par 65 and beating Lancaster and Justin Leonard in the sudden-death playoff.

With a two-stroke lead and his drive in the middle of the 18th fairway, Lancaster pulled his approach into deep rough left of the bunker, about 35 yards from the flag. His chip went into a valley, nearly 40 feet from the cup.

Lancaster needed two putts to win for the first time in eight years and 265 tournaments. Instead, he suffered his first three-putt of the week, missing the bogey putt from four feet.

Annika Sorenstam won her seventh LPGA Tour title this year and ninth event overall, closing with a five-under 65 for a four-stroke victory in the Williams Championship at Tulsa, Okla.

“This is shaping up to be my best season probably,” said Sorenstam, who won eight titles last year and has 39 victories in nine seasons. She birdied four of the last six holes to easily hold off Lorie Kane with an 11-under 199 total.

She earned $150,000 to push her season total to $2,061,991 in 16 events. She set the tour record last year with $2,105,868, becoming the first player in tour history to top $2 million.

Bob Gilder made a two-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to beat Tom Jenkins and win the Kroger Senior Classic at Maineville, Ohio, giving him consecutive victories for the second time this year. He won the SBC Senior Open and FleetBoston Classic in July and the Allianz Championship last week.

Jenkins had 10 birdies during a course record 10-under 62 and was the leader in the clubhouse at 16 under. Gilder had one bogey and three birdies, including a birdie three at the par-four 17th. His birdie attempt on No. 18 curled around the cup and left him tied with Jenkins with a three-round total of 200.

Gilder and Jenkins parred the first playoff hole, the par-five 18th. At the par-four 10th, Gilder hit his second shot within two feet and Jenkins hit his approach to 10 feet. Jenkins’ birdie try slid a foot past the hole. Gilder rolled in his birdie putt.

*

Miscellany

The top-ranked teams of Holly McPeak-Elaine Youngs and Eric Fonoimoana-Dax Holdren won the Paul Mitchell AVP Shootout on Saturday night at the Hardrock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. McPeak and Youngs beat second-ranked Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan, 21-15, 21-11, in the women’s final. Fonoimoana and Holdren beat Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh, 26-24, 21-18, in the men’s final.... Texas Tech basketball Coach Bob Knight underwent surgery at Lubbock, Texas, for an intestinal obstruction related to scar tissue in the abdomen. Knight’s doctors said the surgery went well.